Transfer pinion for counters



March 15, 1960 H. N. BLISS ETAL TRANSFER PINION FOR COUNTERS Filed Sept.11, 1956 @80 a 432 57 :444a V 3 J 7-- i pt m 2v x F INVENTORS HARVEY IV.BLISS BY GU8774VE L. MANKE United States Patent TRANSFER PINTON FORCOUNTERS Application September 11, 1956, Serial No. 609,253

6 Claims. (Cl. 14-411) This invention relates to counters of the typeutilizing an interrupted tooth transfer gearing mechanism and moreparticularly to a novel and improved transfer pinion for use in thetransfer gearing mechanism of such a counter.

In counters of the type for which this invention is intended for use,each higher order number wheel is driven a predetermined angulardistance by the respectively preceding lower order number wheel eachtime the lower order number wheel makes one complete revolution. Thistransfer or carryover from the lower order wheel is accomplished bymeans of a gear segment on the lower order number wheel whichisengageable with a rotatable mutilated pinion having a full toothedportion engageable with a driven gear on the higher order wheel.

When the lower order wheel of such counter is operating at a relativelyhigh rotative speed it can be appreciated that there will beconsiderable loading on the pinion and gears at each carryover of thecount from the lower order wheel to the next higher order wheel. Thisloading comprises the first impact when the rapidly moving gear segmentof the first number wheel meets the stationary transfer pinion which inturn is meshed with the stationary driven gear of the second numberwheel and also comprises a second strain when thereafter, at the end ofthe transfer operation, the transfer pinion is suddenly halted by thelocking ring and must resist the inertia of the now rapidly-movingsecond wheel. This loading may be serious enough to damage or fractureeither the gears or the pinion, and certainly reduces the service lifeof the transfer gearing.

Accordingly it is an object of this invention to provide a novel andimproved transfer pinion for use in a counter of the type describedhaving means to overcome the shock loading imposed on the transferpinion upon initiation of the transfer of the count from a lower orderwheel to a next higher order wheel.

It is further the object of this invention to provide a pinion of thetype described of rugged yet simple construction in order to minimizeany increase in cost of the overall counter mechanism and to assure thepinion of a long and trouble-free service life. 7

Other objects will be in part obvious, and in part pointed out more indetail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of theapplication of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

. In the drawing;

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of a portion of a countermechanism incorporating a pinion constructed in accordance with theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view along the line 2--2 of Fig. 1; V V lFig. 3 is an end view of a pinion constructed in ac- ICC cordance withthe invention, with a portion of the pinion cut away;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the pinion of Fig. 3 along the line4-4 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view of two of the elements of apinion constructed in accordance with the invention. With reference tothe drawing, and particularly Figs. 1 and 2, there is shown a countermechanism of the type generally described above'which comprises a lowerorder number wheel 10 and a higher order number wheel 12. Both numberwheels are rotatably mounted on a shaft 14. The lower order wheel 10 isprovided with a gear 16 mounted for rotation therewith and by means ofwhich the wheel 10 and hence the counter may be driven by suitableexternal driving mechanism (not shown). As shown in Fig. 2 the lowerorder number wheel is provided with a two tooth gear 18 engageable witha pinion 20 having alternately wide and narrow teeth and rotatablymounted, intermediate the lower and higher order wheels, on a shaft 22.The left hand portion of the pinion 20 (as viewed in Fig. l) is engagedwith a driven gear 24 mounted for rotation with the higher order wheel.As should be apparent each time the lower order wheel makes one completerevolution the two tooth gear 18 will, through the pinion 20, rotate thedriven gear 24 and the higher order number wheel an angular distanceequivalent to the advance of one digit on the higher order wheel. Exceptduring a transfer operation, the pinion 20 is locked against turningmovement by the locking ring 19 which engages with the alternate wideteeth 21 of the pinion 20. In accordance with the invention, and as canbe most clearly seen in Figs. 3-5, the pinion 20 is constructed in twosections; a male section 26 carries the unmutilated gear teeth which areengageable with the driven gear 24 of the higher order number wheel andis provided with a hub 28 extending coaxially of the section 26. The hub28 is provided with a through bore 30 for the rotatable mounting of thesection on the shaft 22. The other pinion section 32 'carries themutilated toothed portion of the pinion engageable with the two-toothedgear 18 and locking ring 19 of the lower order wheel and is providedwith a central aperture 34 extending coaxially therethrough by means ofwhich the section 32 is rotatably mounted on the hub 28 of the pinionsection 26. The hub 28 is provided at its outer end with an annulargroove in which is receivable a snap-ring 36 to maintain the pinions 26and 32 in axial assembly with their radially extending and axially.facing surfaces 38 and 39, respectively, and their gear teeth in closecontact;

' In accordance with the invention, the radial surface 39 of the femalepinion section 32 is providedwith an annular recess 40.disposedcoaxially of the axis of the pinion and'forminga boss 42 extendingcoaxially of the section 32. The cross sectional area of the recess 40is reduced at diametrically opposed points by means of a pair ofradially outwardly inclined abutment members 44 and 45 extending axiallyof the boss 42 from the free end thereof, and a pair of radiallyinwardly inclined abutment members 46 and 47 extending axially of thesection 32 from the surface 39. The abutment members 44-47 form a pairof V-shaped recesses facing axially of the pinion section 32 toward thesection 26.

Further, in accordance with the invention the male section 26 isprovided with a pair of projections 50, 52 having a V-shaped crosssection generally complemental to the V-shaped recesses of the section32. The projections 50, 52 extend axially of the section 26 forreception in the V-shaped recesses of the section 32 and are of a lengthcorresponding to the length of the abutment members 4447.

Also, in accordance with the invention a pair of coil Patented Mar. 15,19 0 springs 56, 58 are oppositely disposed in the annular recess 40 ofthe pinion section 32 with the ends of the springs abutting the ends ofthe abutment members 44, 47. As it clearly apparent from Figs. 3-5,withthe springs 56 and 53 so disposed and with the pinion sectionsassembled, the projections 50, 52 of the male section 26 will beresiliently maintained centered in the V-shaped recess of the femalesection 32 by the engagement of the ends of the springs 56, 53 with theshoulders formed by the ends of the projections 50, 52.

In the preferred embodiment the gear teeth of the pinion sections 26 and32 are disposed relative to the projections 50, 52 of the section 26 andV-shaped recesses of the section 32 such that the gear teeth of thesections are aligned when the projections 50, 52 are centered in theV-shaped recesses as aforedescribed. Further it is preferred that thesprings 56, 58 be assembled in the pinion under compressive preload inorder to relsiliently maintain the alignment of the gear teeth when thepinion is not under load.

From the above description it should be clearly evident with a transferpinion constructed in accordance with the invention, incorporated withina counter such as aforedescribed, each time the two-toothed gear 18 ofth lower order number whee-l engages the mutilated portion of thepinion, the pinion section 32 can rotate relative to the pinion section26 an amount suflicient to absorb or damp the impact load on the pinion.Then at the completion of the transfer operation, when the pinionsection 32 is suddenly halted by the locking ring 19, the pinion section26 can continue to rotate a slight amount relative to section 32 whiledecelerating and halting the wheel of higher order. absorb and dampenthe force of the impact and release and finally return the sections 26and 32 to their original aligned positions upon removal of the strain onthe pinion. This latter movement is important in a counter mechanism, ofcourse, to maintain the registry of the number wheels. During a highspeed counting operation, this relative rotation of the sections of thepinion, first in one direction and then in the other, will of courseoccur so rapidly that there will be no visible indication of the slightlag in the transfer of the count occasioned thereby.

From the above it can be seen that there has been provided a shockabsorbing transfer pinion for a'counter of the type described having anovel and improved sectional construction whereby the strain on thepinion due to the shock loading thereof during a transfer operation athigh speed will be materially reduced if not substantially eliminated,thus minimizing the possibility of damage to the counter during thetransfer operation and materially increasing the service life of thecounter. The structure is simple to fabricate and assemble and providestrouble-free operation for long periods of time.

We claim:

1. In a counter, a number wheel of lower order having a driving gearsegment and a locking ring, a number wheel of higher order having adriven gear, and a transfer pinion comprising a driven gear sectionalternately engaging the driving gear segment and locking ring, acoaxial driving gear section meshing with the driven gear on the higherorder number wheel, and a resilient driving connection between the gearsections resisting rotation of the driving gear section relative to thedriven gear section in both directions.

2. In a counter, a number wheel of lower order having a driving gearsegment and locking ring mounted thereon, a number wheel of higher orderhaving a driven gear mounted thereon, and a transfer pinion resilientlyinterconnecting said driving gear and said driven gear, said transferpinion comprising a pair of coaxially assembled relatively rotatablepinion sections each carrying a plurality of gear teeth, one of saidpinion sections alternately engaging the driving gear segment andlocking ring and The springs 56, 58 i 4 the other of said pinionsections meshing with the driven gear on the higher order number wheel,and means forming a resilient driving connection between the pinionsections, said resilient driving connection comprising a spring carriedby one of the pinion sections and a shoulder on the other pinionsection, said shoulder being abuttingly engageable with said spring toestablish a position of equilibrium between the pinion sections, saidspring being compressed by relative rotation of the sections out of theposition of equilibrium.

3. In a counter, a number wheel of lower order having a driving gearsegment and locking ring mounted thereon, a number wheel of higher orderhaving a driven gear mounted thereon and a transfer pinion resilientlyinterconnecting said driving and driven gears, said transfer pinioncomprising a pair of coaxial sections mounted for rotation relative toeach other in either direction, one of said'coaxial sections alternatelyengaging the driving ear segment and locking ring and the other of saidcoaxial sections meshing with the driven gear on the higher order numberwheel, and opposed spring means biasing the sections to a predeterminedrelatively rotated position and resisting rotation of each sectionrelative to the other section in both directions out of saidpredetermined relatively rotated position.

4. In a counter, a number wheel of lower order having a driving gearsegment and locking ring mounted thereon, a number wheel of higher orderhaving a driven gear mounted thereon and a transfer pinion resilientlyinterconnecting said driving gear and said driven gear, said transferpinion comprising a pair of coaxial pinion sections mounted for rotationrelative to each other in either direction, one of said pinion sectionsalternately engaging the driving gear segment and locking ring and theother of said sections meshing with the driven gear on the higher ordernumber wheel, a pair of springs disposed between the sections and eachabuttingly engaged at both ends by one of said sections, and means forloading at least one of said springs when the sections are moved inopposite directions including a shoulder on the other of the sectionsalternately abuttingly engageable with adjacent ends of the springs.

5. In a counter, a number wheel of lower order having a driving gearsegment and locking ring mounted thereon, a number wheel of higher orderhaving a driven gear mounted thereon and a transfer pinion resilientlinter connecting said driving gear and said driven gear comprising apair of relatively rotatable pinion sections each carrying a pluralityof gear teeth, the teeth on one of said pinion sections alternatelyengaging the driving gear segment and locking ring and the teeth on theother of said segments meshing with the driven gear on the higher ordernumber wheel, means to coaxially assemble said pinion sections, meansproviding an annular recess in one of said sections facing axiallythereof toward the other section, diametrically opposed abutment meanson said one section extending radially thereof into said annular recess,a pair of oppositely disposed coil springs received in said annularrecess with each spring in abutting engagement at both ends with saidabutment means, and a pair of diametrically opposed projections on theother section received in said annular recess in abutting engagementwith the adjacent ends of said coil springs.

6. In a counter, a number wheel of lower order having a driving gearsegment and locking ring mounted thereon, a number wheel of higher orderhaving a driven gear mounted thereon and a transfer pinion resilientlyinterconnecting the driving and driven gears, said transfer pinioncomprising a pair of relatively rotatable coaxially disposed sections,one of the sections having alternately wide and narrow teeth, said wideteeth alternately engaging said driving gear segment and said lockingring, the other of the sections having teeth of equal width alignablerespectively with the teeth of said one section and meshing with thedriven gear on the higher order number wheel, and a resilient drivingconnection between the sections including spring means bracing thesections to a predetermined relative rotated position wherein the teethof the sections are aligned and resisting movement of each sectionrelative to the other in both directions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS978,977 Wood Dec. 20, 1910 6 Bailey Nov. 23, 1926 Slye Dec. 7, 1943Cairnea Dec. 22, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Feb. 26, 1923

